While reading a passage from an old classic last night, the main character of the book gives a brief description of what summer “is” in her little Southern town.

It got me thinking about what summer “was”, for me, in my Maine town when I was a kid.

Summer was running barefoot through puddles left by a strong rainstorm that briefly darkened my world with ominous clouds.

It was spending my ten cents allowance that I earned wiping dishes every night, on a root beer Popsicle or an orange creamsicle when the ice cream truck rolled through our neighborhood.

It was childhood games like hopscotch and double-dutch and red hot jump rope played at least once a day, every day. Summer meant staying out late at the Trefethren’s house playing One, Two, Three, Red Light until there was no light left to see.

It was climbing in the back of the family Rambler station wagon in our p.j.’s and heading to the drive-in to watch a Disney movie while resting our heads on pillows from home.  Ma would attach the speaker to the car window and light the bug repellent coil and place it on the front dashboard.  The coil worked pretty well, but we still would end up scratching one or two bites all night long and even calamine lotion would offer no relief.

It was joining my mother at her nightly perch to observe life on the corner of Cole Street and Woodlawn Avenue.  We lived in a cape and it had two second story windows on either end of the house.  One was in my brother’s room (where the watch tower was) and the other was in the room I shared with my sister.  Our window opened up to a flat deck which was the porch roof. On those clear and golden summer days, it was a great place to spy on the next door neighbors, or lay in the sun with a good Nancy Drew. 

It was potato salad, watermelon, hot dogs, and whoopie pies.  It was circulating fans that whirred hot air, watching baseball games at the American Legion field down the street, picking cockleburs out of our cat's fur, and drinking in every last dog day of summer, wishing it were June all over again.

So my first official book signing wasn’t a huge success in sales, but it was a great opportunity to meet some fellow authors.  I was hoping to have some pictures of the Beyond the Sea Book Festival to post and share, but alas, the excitement clouded my thinking and I forgot about the photo ops until the drive home.  So much for capturing the moment!

The only shots I did manage to get that day, were taken in Camden, Maine where we stopped for lunch before the book festival and an afterwards photo at our celebratory dinner in Bath. 

Cooking with seasonal ingredients is fun and with the blueberry season upon us, I thought I would share a recipe showcasing these blue gems. 

Bursting with Blueberries Bundt Cake

2 ½ to 3 cups of fresh blueberries

1 heaping cup of sugar

1/2 cup of unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 extra-large egg, beaten

2 ½ cups of all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons of baking powder

½ teaspoon of salt

1/8 teaspoon each of allspice, cinnamon, cloves

1 cup of whole milk

Confectioners’ sugar for dusting baked and cooled cake.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Grease and flour a bundt pan. 

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar.  Add the beaten egg and mix well.

Take two tablespoons of the flour and toss it with the blueberries.  This will keep the blueberries from sinking to the bottom of the pan. 

Sift the remaining flour and dry ingredients together.  On low speed, add the dry ingredients alternately with the milk to the creamed mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.

Pour the batter into the bundt pan and bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Placed on a wire baking rack and let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes.  Remove from the pan and cool completely on the wire rack.

Just before serving, dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve with a scoop of ginger ice cream.

My first official book signing takes place in Lincolnville Beach, Maine this Sunday, July 25, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Beyond the Sea Book Festival.  This is being held at the Beyond the Sea Gift Shop Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  Each day covers a different genre.  Check out the website and see the list of authors and their works that will be available for signing and purchase.  Happy Reading!

What better way to kick off my blog than by introducing you to my first published work, Rescued Recipes From My Grandmother's Trashcan.  A tribute to Mildred Arline (Knox) Austin, a very special Maine lady, whose positive influence helped shape my life.

Filled with good old Maine recipes and anecdotes of life with Gram, this book was a true labor of love from start to finish.  (It took me three years of testing, tasting, and consuming calories.)

It is available on Amazon and would make a wonderful gift for that special cook in your life.

This book was the inspiration for the title of my blog. Gram was always happy and content when she could smell the salt air and sweet ferns of Maine.